Top state recruit Matt Elam moves Florida Gators back to No. 1, cools on Florida State Seminoles

Matt Elam, the top-rated recruit in the state who reneged on his verbal commitment to Florida on the heels of coach Urban Meyer's leave of absence and said he would be enrolling early at Florida State, has changed his mind again.

"I'm decommitting," the Palm Beach Dwyer High safety told UGASports, an affiliate of Rivals.com, on Wednesday after being asked if he was still headed to Tallahassee. "Florida is first for me right now, followed by Georgia and Florida State is third."

The 6-foot, 205-pound Elam, ranked No. 14 in the country by Rivals.com and its top-rated player in Florida, is expected to announce his decision Saturday during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game in San Antonio, Texas. His decision is only binding once he signs a scholarship offer on Feb. 3, national signing day.

Junior college RB picks USF, backs Leavitt

TAMPA — USF got a pledge Wednesday from Mike Hayes, a top junior college running back from Houston who said he wasn't concerned about allegations that coach Jim Leavitt struck a player.

"Having him come in and visit my family, my heart was set on South Florida," said Hayes, 5 feet 9 and 195 pounds. He also had offers from Kansas State and Southern Miss.

Hayes rushed for 1,269 yards and 17 touchdowns as a sophomore at Blinn College.

Hayes said he is aware of the allegations that Leavitt grabbed a player by the throat and struck him twice in the face. He said after meeting him, he isn't concerned.

"After talking with him, I don't think he could do that," Hayes said. "He's a great coach, but he seems like an even better guy from what I've seen of him."

snead going to nfl: Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft after leading the Rebels to back-to-back nine-win seasons, their best in nearly four decades. Snead passed for 5,394 career yards and is second to Eli Manning in school history with 46 touchdown passes. Nathan Stanley and Raymond Cotton will compete for the job.

In another departure, Virginia Tech defensive end Jason Worilds will skip his final season. He was named second-team All-ACC for the second straight season.

NEVADA: Stanford assistant Andy Buh was named defensive coordinator.

Notre Dame: Coach Brian Kelly will bring two assistants from his Cincinnati staff to be his defensive and offensive coordinators. Bob Diaco will run the defense, as he did last season for the Bearcats. Charley Molnar, Cincinnati's passing game coordinator and receivers coach the past three seasons, will run the offense, with Kelly calling plays.

RICHMOND: Aaron Corp, who won the Southern Cal starting job in the spring but was displaced by Matt Barkley after being injured in training camp, transferred to the Spiders. He has two years of eligibility and can play right away because Richmond is a Division I-AA school.

virginia: Jim Reid, a linebackers coach with the NFL's Dolphins the past two years, was named defensive coordinator and associate head coach.

Secret recordings. Undercover agents. Bribes. Federal indictments. College basketball's latest national scandal into the unsavory methods that coaches, agents and shoe company representatives use to make inroads with elite high school prospects has it all — including connections to Tampa Bay.

UPDATE, 5:59 p.m.: The Rays are officially eliminated from the playoff race with their next loss or the Twins next win. ... Both LHP Xavier Cedeno and 3B coach Charlie Montoyo got word that their familes in Puerto Rico were safe and their homes withstood the hurricane. ... Ramos said he wasn't focused on the …